PE Ownership Bears Some Blame for the Healthcare Cyberattack Crisis
Private equity involvement in healthcare has been controversial for many operational reasons — we can now add digital innovation to the list.
The number of cyberattacks on healthcare systems has risen dramatically in recent years, with the ID Theft Center’s 2023 Data Breach Report showing that healthcare was the top industry for cyberattacks in 2023, having seen its number of breaches more than double year-over-year from 2022.
At the same time, private equity involvement in healthcare has also risen. According to the Lown Institute, a healthcare-focused think tank, private equity buyouts of physician practices were six times higher in 2021 than in 2012. Additionally, about 30% of for-profit hospitals are currently owned by private equity.
Could these two trends be linked?
